By Steve Cichon
steve@buffalostories.com
@stevebuffalo
It’s not a Polish dish, but it is a sacred and beloved meal of Buffalo Polonia: the Barbequed Hamburger.
This is my version of Grandma Cichon’s version, which was her version of the BBQ hamburgers my great aunts used to serve at the family gin mill, The Sport Den, on Walden Avenue near the city line.
Grandma Cichon’s BBQ Hamburgers
2lbs ground beef
Envelope of onion soup mix (which Grandma Cichon put in EVERYTHING)
Bottle of BBQ sauce (Kraft would have been more Grandma Cichon authentic, but a generic version of Sweet Baby Rays was all I had.)
Thoroughly mix meat and soup mix with hands, shape into burgers on the small side.
Heat up a big pan, let the burgers brown on one side, then flip to brown the other. Add bottle of BBQ sauce, and then half a bottle of water.
Cover and simmer until they look done. Cut one in half if you’re not sure.
These were really good… Grandma Cichon was right— onion soup mix makes any crap delicious!